Virtually Half of the Proprietor-Occupied Properties Constructed Earlier than 1980

Round 48% of the U.S. housing shares dates again to the Eighties and earlier. The median age of owner-occupied houses has climbed to 41 years in 2023, up from 31 years in 2005 in line with the most recent knowledge from the American Neighborhood Survey[1]. The U.S. owner-occupied housing inventory has aged quickly notably, notably for the reason that Nice Recession, because the residential building continues to fall behind in delivering new houses.

At the moment, new house building faces headwinds resembling rising materials prices, persistent labor scarcity and elevated rates of interest. These challenges have contributed to an inadequate provide of recent building, making the nation’s owner-occupied housing inventory considerably older over time. In consequence, the getting older housing inventory indicators a future rising reworking market. Older buildings require updates so as to add new facilities or want repairs or replacements of previous elements.

Furthermore, the lock-in impact from traditionally low mortgage charges throughout the pandemic interval has led many owners to remain put and renovate their present houses to accommodate the rising wants of their households. Over the long term, the getting older of the housing inventory implies that reworking could develop quicker than new building.

From 2020 to 2023, new building added practically 2.6 million owner-occupied houses, accounting for less than 3% of complete owner-occupied housing inventory as of 2023. Comparatively newer houses constructed between 2010 and 2019 took up round 9% of the inventory, whereas these constructed between 2000 and 2009 made up 15%. In distinction, round 48% of the owner-occupied houses have been constructed earlier than 1980, together with round 35% constructed earlier than 1970.

As a result of modest provide of housing building, the share of comparatively newer owner-occupied houses (these constructed inside previous 13 years) has declined drastically, from 18% in 2013 to solely 12% in 2023. In the meantime, the share of older houses which can be not less than 44 years previous has elevated considerably, rising from 39% in 2013 to 48% in 2023. This shift additional displays the continuing getting older of the U.S. housing inventory, highlighting the rising significance of the transforming sector to handle the rising wants of householders nationwide.

[1] : Census Bureau didn’t launch the usual 2020 1-year American Neighborhood Survey (ACS) because of the knowledge assortment disruptions skilled throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The information high quality points for some matters stay within the experimental estimates of the 2020 knowledge. To be cautious, the 2020 experimental knowledge just isn’t included within the evaluation.